Group GNZL

New Zealand

FIFA World Cup 2026 — Betting Profile

5-5-2W-L-D

14–16Goals F-A

+80000To Win WC

Totals: UNDERThe All Whites under Darren Bazeley are the OFC's representa…

Playing Style

The All Whites under Darren Bazeley are the OFC's representatives at a World Cup for the third time. The entire New Zealand game plan is simple and direct: win the ball, get it to Chris Wood, defend your box. Wood (Nottingham Forest) is a Premier League-caliber target striker who scores above his billing — 12+ goals per season in the top flight. Beyond Wood, the quality drops sharply. Clayton Lewis and Joe Bell (Wolfsburg) provide the midfield engine. Group G with Belgium, Iran, and Egypt is one of the toughest possible draws. New Zealand will not advance but they will make games difficult. Totals: UNDER — Bazeley teams sit deep and play direct.

Totals Bias:UNDER

Top Scorers

Player	Goals	Context
Chris Wood	34	Nottingham Forest. The only Premier League-class player in New Zealand. Physical, aerial, intelligent — he will score at least one World Cup goal if New Zealand get their shape right. All of their attacking intent flows through him.
Liberato Cacace	7	Empoli (Serie A). Left back / left midfielder who provides the only real attacking width. Surprisingly effective going forward. Creates the crosses Wood attacks.
Clayton Lewis	5	Midfielder from Dutch second division. The engine room. Decent press resistance for this level, breaks up attacks, and occasionally finds passes forward that release Wood.

Chris Wood — Nottingham Forest. The only Premier League-class player in New Zealand. Physical, aerial, intelligent — he will score at least one World Cup goal if New Zealand get their shape right. All of their attacking intent flows through him.

Liberato Cacace — Empoli (Serie A). Left back / left midfielder who provides the only real attacking width. Surprisingly effective going forward. Creates the crosses Wood attacks.

Clayton Lewis — Midfielder from Dutch second division. The engine room. Decent press resistance for this level, breaks up attacks, and occasionally finds passes forward that release Wood.

Set Piece Roles

⚽PK Taker

Chris Wood

🎯FK Specialist

Liberato Cacace / Joe Bell

📐Corner Duty

Liberato Cacace (delivery) / Chris Wood, Winston Reid (aerial targets)

Tactical Breakdown

New Zealand's realistic World Cup strategy: not concede five in any game, score one goal (probably Chris Wood from a set piece), and go home with dignity. That is not pessimism — it is the reality of OFC football. The All Whites are organized and disciplined and they will not be humiliated. But Belgium, Iran, and Egypt are all significantly better in technical quality. The best prop on New Zealand is Wood to score (anytime) at +300 or better in the group stage.

Shot Creators & Assisters

Chris Wood(Centre forward)

Nottingham Forest. The singular tactical asset of this team. Corners, free kicks, long balls, second balls — Wood attacks all of them. He is the most important player in New Zealand football history for this moment.

Liberato Cacace(Left wing back)

Empoli. The only player outside Wood who can cause a professional-level problem for opponents. His run down the left and delivery into the box is the template for how New Zealand try to score.

Joe Bell(Central midfielder)

Wolfsburg (Germany). Playing in the Bundesliga 2 gives Bell the highest-level regular experience in this squad outside Wood. Defensive in nature but distributes well.

Set Piece Aerial Targets

Chris Wood

6'3". The best aerial striker in this group outside a fully switched-on Romelu Lukaku. Every corner is delivered to Wood. This is their best scoring opportunity.

Winston Reid

Physical centre back who attacks corners. New Zealand historically score set piece goals at World Cups.